Ēōs Mundi Houba

It was in the last week of the fifth month when Anu felt a light tap over his forehead. The room was veiled in early darkness as dawn threatened to break from the grey clouds above. He yawned slightly and stretched his arms. His father, the toned, muscular man, hesitantly picked him up.

Anu gurgled in complaint; it was still too early for games. He had spent most of last night reciting the anecdotes of post-classical Antiquity, while drawing comparisons between Hellenistic and subsequent Bactrian culture in Central Asia. It was his only way to keep sane.

Pushing his tiny body in a dark silk cloak, his father wrapped the cloth over his chest, propelling Anu on his back. He then tied the knot, making sure it was tightened.

Anu tapped his back in anticipation, his incisor grinding against the crown in the gum as his tongue prodded it. Was he finally being taken out? He wondered.

With her bedhead, his mother yawned while passing a barrel to his father. They exchanged dialogue briefly. Anu couldn't see his father's expression, but his mother bore concern. A few minutes later, she kissed his father and then pressed her lips on Anu’s forehead.

She said the word for farewell. It was two words, three syllables long, making a startling 'Aa' sound in the beginning before ending with a melodious 'Oo'. Anu registered the CVC-consonant, vowel and consonant-pattern. An observation he has made over the last month.

They then stepped out of their archaic yet cosy homestead. Over the stilted edges of the well-polished veranda sat the white-haired girl. She was clad in an indigo-red Innaphi fashioned into a hunting coat, which was pelt-seamed. Underneath was a white tunic, a leather belt and black leggings.

She turned sharply and drew her knife. Her scarlet eyes were filled with desperation as she spoke words in quick succession. It was too fast for Anu to follow. Her brows furrowed as she defiantly swayed her petite arm.

Her tonality changed; it was of a higher pitch, all the while, his father unnervingly and gently replied. Anu found his father's voice soothing.

Over the last five months, Anu has wondered about the relationship between the white-haired girl and his family. Initially, he had taken her for an elder sibling, but that theory was debunked in his first month. The girl was mostly around the house except after dusk. She would return at dawn again. He later thought maybe she was a worker, but she was far too young. Distant relative, he wondered. But then none of her genetic traits, from her eye color to even skin tone, matched neither him, his mother or father. The only close resemblance she borrowed was from the old lady who had held him on his birth.

The girl gave his father a daunting glare and then sniffled. She quickly ran to his side, pressed her lips over his cheeks, and proddingly whispered five words. It was gentle, hesitant, but encouraging.

The only thing Anu could make out was 'Che'.

It was the first word he had registered. Not a sound but a complete composite. Overcome with elation, he swayed his arm within the constraints before gleefully releasing a giggle.

The girl's eyes widened as she took a step back.

"Che..." Anu radiantly announced. His tongue folded up, touching the roof, and then he released the sound with an 'eh. ' It had no diphthong.

Hearing him speak, his father let out a light chuckle as he ruffled the hair of the astonished girl. In that instance, Anu didn't realise the connotation the three-syllable word carried. It was the initiation of a bond that would blossom with time.

His father gently gilded into the earthen stepway, leaving the abode of their gabled home behind. The path was dark, with only a faint glow from Cyan trails that sailed in glee, bouncing from one side to the other. Anu peeked over his father's shoulder. In front was a faint outline of yellow-green stalks swaying gently with cyan eddies.

As they got closer, the fragrance of damp earthen soil lingered around them. Below, the stone-chiselled path morphed into rusty soil. A sharp breeze blew past. Anu closed his eyes. His tiny fingers clutched onto the silken fabric. A soothing melody of creaking stalk followed as his father placed his palm over the nearest shaft.

He gently whispered words, archaic than what Anu had ever heard in this world. They were melodic and rhythmic like none other. The leaves soughed as butterflies, magenta-scarlet-obsidian fluttered from between the cracks, swarming the path ahead.

Each glowed in its respective shade, kindling the path in its ethereal mist.

This forest was termed Umang—abode of the wind spirit—home to this region's guardian deity: Pakhangba—the wingless dragon. And the fauna they encountered were dubbed dusk butterflies. An exotic species found only in this forest.

Leaving the mystical grove, they entered the valley. Behind him was the Mount Pakhangba, imposing its presence from beneath the crepuscular veil. Over its stepped ledge beyond the Umang were gabled homes, some grand, others humble. Among them, one was his home. Further above was a trifecta of Morung nestled by each other. Its roof; dauntingly raised with antler horns hoisted from its gable.

Korou wondered if that was the village chief's dwelling. His eyes scanned the silhouette of each Morung, which was perched on levels. A hierarchy, maybe.

From over the summit peeked a triumvirate of Pagoda. Its wall, flushed by the scaling cyan trails. Over its roof was a curving bronze Serpentine sculpture twisted in 'S' shape. Its head, washed in shimmering gold, was tilted upwards, its whiskers coiled as it opened its maw, breathing a storm. Anu glanced over its glossy scales, each intricately sculpted, glistening over the dusky dawn. He was reminded of the eastern dragons, one that he had grown accustomed to over his years in Japan.

The rest of the walk followed an elevated trail, with a scattering of gabled homes over the meadow, each with a standard horn at its ridge.

Anu's plausible theory of horns displaying hierarchy was proving factual as new empirical data flowed into his mind.

He glanced over the fields that encompassed the path. Filled with a stream of water and swaying golden stalks, there were people, nearly a dozen clad in a reddish tunic with sleeves rolled up, tidying the soil.

For the longest time, this reincarnated world has posed a question to Anu's scholarly mind. What era were they stuck in? Initially, after his birth and observation of his home, he had deduced it was a prehistoric civilisation. He assumed they comprised mainly hunters and gatherers transitioning slowly into agriculture. Though he soon debunked when it dawned on him, he wasn't moving around like a nomad.

He observed again that the home resembled aesthetic value, the language polished, not crude, and they might even have a script. Was this in ancient times? Or perhaps Antiquity? His eyes widened in remembrance of the fantastical. Magic, he had been averse to call it. It sounded foolish in his head, but easy terminology was paramount to research, so he obliged.

Now, he gazed over at the paddy fields stretching over, with mulberry, strawberry and cotton patches. He held his temples. It was confusing. Was this a buffer frontier? Or a pastoral tribal community that supported urban cities far away. Or were they still stuck in the early metal age?